Moving to PA from Australia (Pittsburgh, Washington: best neighborhoods, apartment, rentals)

[aussiekiwi99]

Hi all
I am looking at accepting a job in PA in the Carmichaels area and moving over from Australia. As you can imagine, I know very little about the area, so would like some advice on where the best neighborhoods might be to live.

Looking at the map Carmichaels seems way out in the middle of nowhere. Im a single professional so was looking for something closer to the city or an area with decent nightlife and non-family social prospects, but still within reasonable commute time to my job. Any ideas?

Also when renting an apartment, is it easier to get one unfurnished, partly furnished or fully furnished? Whats the approximate difference in price? Reason being, none of my appliances (fridge, washer etc) will work on US power supply so have to get rid of them anyway and was wondering whether to just get rid of all my furniture and move over with minimal stuff.

Thanks heaps for the help!

[UKyank]

Carmichaels is definitely out in the middle of nowhere. Close to the city (I am assuming you mean Pittsburgh) won't really be an option unless you want a far commute to work everyday. Washington might be feasible with shopping & restuarants available there, though I would rule out any semblance of nightlife. Waynesburg would be the closest town of any real size to you, but there's really not much there at all.

Appliances come standard in virtually all US rentals (found it so bizarre in Germany that everyone takes everything including stoves & such when they move - maybe its the same down under). Other furnishings vary from place to place. On the plus side, I have to imagine that rentals are very cheap in the area you will be working at.

Just out of pure curiosity, what type of job takes one from Oz to Carmichaels.

[WestLibertyAve]

Morgantown?

[greg42]

Wow, that's in the sticks. I hadn't even heard that town's name before this thread. Really. And I've lived in the Pittsburgh area for 20 years. I've probably see it on a road sign on I-79 before, or such. Dunno.

So, yeah, if you lived anywhere in or near Pittsburgh you'd be looking at a commute something over an hour. It is in typically the reverse direction but depending upon the finer details of where you would come from that doesn't mean zero traffic in that direction. Do you think it's worth it to have 75 minute EACH WAY commute to live in the city? I kinda doubt that, although it's clear that short of living in the city it isn't going to be an easy time of it as a professional single looking for non-family social prospects. So you might choose somewhere in between or otherwise south of the city, like, dunno, Washington, Canonsburg, Bridgeville, anything that would cut the commute at least some.

Maybe others have some more creative ideas. I wonder if Morgantown WV should be an option, for example, but I'm not up on what it's like to live there. It's mainly a huge university.

As UKyank says, rentals here, even "unfurnished" (which is by far the most common) will come with the stove and fridge you need anyway, or at least 99.99% of them will. Cheaper rentals typically don't have a washer/dryer in the unit but may have access to a shared laundry room. Unless you have really nice furniture you don't want to part with, I can't imagine it's really practical to have it shipped halfway around the world, but that's your choice. Maybe the company is paying for that which would make it worth it.

And yeah, I'm not up on what's in Carmichaels either, does make me curious.

Good luck with it, hope we can be of some help.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Just out of pure curiosity, what type of job takes one from Oz to Carmichaels.

Originally Posted by greg42

And yeah, I'm not up on what's in Carmichaels either, does make me curious.

Rhymes with Sharcellus Male?

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Rhymes with Sharcellus Male?

Glad to see they're keeping the talent local!

[greg42]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Rhymes with Sharcellus Male?

Well yeah, that was the most obvious thing. But for a single professional to come halfway around the world to work in the sticks, I'd guess there's a little more to it than some. Plus, most of the companies have been setting up offices a little less in the sticks, like Southpointe, etc.

[gameguy56]

Usually I'm a huge proponent of city living, but Carmichaels is pretty darn far away. You could try living in Washington or Cannonsburg but those towns are pretty family oriented. Living in a good Pittsburgh neighborhood would mean a commute of over an hour. Morgantown is going to be the most lively place within a reasonable commuting distance for you.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Rhymes with Sharcellus Male?

I assumed that being thats about the only thing resembling an industry there, but as the above poster noted, I was confused about an Aussie coming all the way over for said industry.

Maybe they hired Cohen & Grigsby to get really creative in their job postings and H1B Visa Hiring (City law firm's immigration video sparks an Internet firestorm) -[yea, i know its old news]

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Glad to see they're keeping the talent local!

Yeah. All those JOBS. Such a windfall. Thanks, Corbett.